Dale Winston Magnuson was born May 31, 1920 to Axel Emanuel and Gladys Magnuson and grew up in rural northeastern Nebraska, living on a farm the first part of his life. Farm life and the trials of the Depression of the 1930s left an indelible mark on his life. He graduated from high school in Crofton, Neb., and then attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he played varsity football and obtained a B.S. in physics in 1941. His graduate studies at Columbia Univ. in New York, N.Y., were interrupted by Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he became a part of the Manhattan Project in NYC and Oak Ridge, Tenn.

He and Doris were married at Riverside Church in NYC Dec. 7, 1944, and moved to Oak Ridge where Dale continued research in nuclear physics for Oak Ridge National Laboratory in various positions until his retirement in 1983. He also completed a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in 1952.

With a large, growing family, Dale and Doris moved to Knoxville, Tenn., in 1954 where he became an enthusiastic hiker in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Almost every weekend, he could be found in the mountains heading up family picnics, camping trips and hikes. He became an expert in identifying all the trees and wildflowers in the Smokies.

Dale was an avid gardener, a "greenie" and "locavore" before those words were known; developing an ever-growing garden and using the bounty throughout each year. He was a voracious reader, especially of history, loved crossword puzzles, folk dancing, the Knoxville Symphony, playing bridge with friends and watching college football, especially Nebraska. He was an active member of Bearden United Methodist Church in Knoxville for over 50 years, often helping with a local food outreach program and Habitat for Humanity.

Page 2 of 2 - He accepted a two-year position with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria, in 1966. He took his family all over Europe camping and exploring other cultures as often as possible. Their travel bug continued back in the USA after retirement when Dale and Doris continued their adventures with trips abroad through Elderhostel learning programs and through the U.S. with their camper truck.

At age 88, he and Doris moved to Shelbyville, Tenn., to the assisted living facilities at The Carriage House and The Heart Remembers.